Automatic weighing-scale



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-fSheet '1.

W. B. SMITH. AUTOMATIG WEIGHING SCALE.

110,375,102. Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

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.H llllll u 1" (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet '2.

W. B. SMITH. AUTOMATIC WBIGHING SCALE. 'N0. 375, 102. Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

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WILLIAM RoRRRr SMITH, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC WElGHlNG-SCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,102, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed May 6, 1887. Serial No. 237,341. (No model.)

To alZ whom it may concern.-

Be it kn own that I, WILLIAMRORERT S ITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State'of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Weighing Scales; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to that class of scales "in which the indicating mechanism is actuated by the fall of the rack-bar, released by trip mechanism such as shown in my application I of such scales, and therefore I deem it unnecessary to illustrate such ordinary mechanism.

- Extending from the platform is an upright case, within which my mechanism is placed. Extending from the lever mechanism underneath the platform and up through the upright case is a rod or suitable connection, to the upper extremity of which the weighing-spring is connected. The upper end of this spring is suspended from a projection on the upper end of the metallic frame, which frame I secure to the back of the case in an upright position, as shown. On a'standard or rod loosely pivoted to an offset on the upper extremity of the rod connecting the weighing-spring and the lever mechanism of the platform is secured a pivoted catch, which engages with a sleeve sliding on the standard and connected to a weight by a band passing over a pulley. Projecting from the sleeve is an offset or arm which engages with a cap on the front of the rack and \serves both as a support and stop for the rackbar which actuates the indicating mechanism. The rack-bar has a vertical motion in suitable bearings, its up motionbeing limited by a nut at its lower end and its down motion by a cap which extends over the projecting arm of the sleeve when thelatter is carried-down by the descent of the rod-connection between the weighing-spring and the scale and its projecting standard. On the partial removal of the weight from the platform of thescales the connectingrod rises with its standard, carrying with it the sleeve and the rack-bar suspended from the sleeve-offset. On the upwardmotion of the sleeve a pawl at the lower extremity of the catch which holds the sleeve engages with a rack, over which it passes freely in its descent,disengages the catch, and releases the sleeve, which is thus slid upward by the fall of the counter-weight, carrying with it the rack-bar back to its normal position. The up movement of the rack returns the indicator to zero, at which point the rack is locked in place by the latch. On the entire removal of the weight the moving frame, the standard, and its pivoted catch continue to rise until the latter again engages with the sleeve in order to carry it down at the next operation of the machine.

The coin-receiver and its releasing mechanism consist of a chute of suitable dimensions, into which projects one end ofa pivoted lever, the other end of which engages with the rackbar when the latter is in its normal position with the index at zero or other desired point. A coin introduced into the Chiltb"in' its fall pushes aside the end of'the lever, and thus withdraws the other arm from its engagement with the rack and releases it. The coin may be retained in the chute by asmall lever until it is expelled by a crank-arm actuated by the return of the rack-bar to its first position, which trips the small retaining-lever.

In the accompanying drawiugs,which illustrate my invention, Figure l is a front view of the mechanism with the front of the case and dial removed. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, partly in section, on the line a: y of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a View, partly in section, of the chute and latch with one side removed.

A is a rod, to-the lower end of which the lever of the platform of the scales is attached, I

rod A at a, extends vertically upward and is supported in a suitable bearing, d, in which it slides freely,following the rise and fall of the lever-rod A. Pivoted to standard D at d is a catch, E, having aspring-tongue, e, secured to its base, but facing its upper hooked arm. A sleeve, F, sliding on standard D, has a cam, Fig. 1, of such shape thatin passing between the hooked arm of catch E and spring 6 it forces them apart until the hooked extremity of catch E, having risen above the cam, is interlocked with it by the continuedpressure of spring 6 on the opposite side of the cam,an d thus the sleeve is locked to the standard.

Catch E has at its lower extremity a pawl,

e, which yields readily when passing in a downward direction over a rack, H, but on the slightest up movement of standard D catches on the rack and pushes the catch E out of engagement with sleeve F. The length of rack H is such that catch E in its downward motion never passes lower than the teeth on it, but can rise above it, so as to allow the spring 6 to engage with the sleeve F. Sleeve F is suspended by a band, 9, passing over a pulley, G, to a weight, 9, so that when it is released by the withdrawal of the catch E the weight carries the sleeve up until it is stopped by mechanism to be described farther on. Extending from sleeve F is an arm or offset, I, which passes beneath and supports a cap, .T, attached to the upper end of an independent rack-bar, K, which slides vertically in suitable bearings, 7c 7c. The rack-bar K is suspended from the offset I in such wise that when notlocked into place by thelatch it falls with the descent of sleeve F when carried down by catch E, and is lifted by the rise of. the sleeve until stopped by a nut, 74', on the lower end of the rack-bar K abutting against the lower bearing 70. In this way the limit of the up movement of the rack'bar K determines the distance sleeve F will ascend on standard D.

The latch mechanism by which rack-bar K is locked in position consists of a pivoted lever, L, havin .,ahorizontal motion, one arm of which, Z, engages in' a recess, Z, of rackbar K when the latteris in its normal position, while the other end, Z, projects slightly into a slot cut in the coin-chute M, Fig. 3, in such a way that a coin, N, of a given diameter, will in its fall push it aside, causing lever L to turn on its pivot and withdraw arm Zfrom the notch Z of the rack K, which will then fall until stopped by offset I on sleeve F. A pinion, F, meshing with the rack, turns the index-hand on the dial, thereby indicating the correct weight of the person standing on the platform. (Join N falls through the chute M without being stopped, and may be received in any suitable receptacle below. After its passage lever L is pushed back into place by a spring, 0, so that it is ready to lock the rack-bar K 011 its return to its first position.

WVhen it is desired to retain coin N in the machine.

chute after it has released thelatch, I provide a trip-lever, I, projected into the chute below lever-arm Z on which the coin rests and is sup ported until it is tripped and the coin allowed to fall out by the action of the crank-arm Q, pivoted at Q to a projection on the frame B. This arm Q rests loosely upon a pin, g, on the raclebar K and has a limited play up and down, its descent being stopped by a stud, g and its rise being limited by that of the rackbar. The face end of arm Q carries a trip ping device, g", which yields easily when passing lever P during the descent of the arm, but remains rigid and trips the lever I on its return, thus releasing the coin.

In the drawings I have shown standard D as a round rod. In'this case sleeve F is prevented from turning on the red by means of a pin, 1, traveling in a groove, 2, made in the rod; but when the latter is square or of polygonal crosssection pin and groove are unnecessary.

The operation of my mechanism is as follows: -In the absence of any weight upon the platform of the scales the parts of the machine are in the position shown in Fig. 1, with rack bar K locked in place, as shown. On placing a weight upon the scales, red A and standard D descend, carrying down sleeve F in engagement with catch E, the pawl eof the latter passing without obstruction over rack H. In its descent weight g is lifted, but rackbar K remains in place, being locked by its latch L. The weight is next indicated by introducing a coin, N, into the chute M, which in its fall pushes aside arm 1*, releasing the rack-bar K, which falls until stopped by its cap Jabutting against offset I of sleeve F, and the weight is indicated by the index-hand on thedial of the On the partial removal of the weight the red A begins to ascend, causing the pawl to catch in rack H and push catch E out of engagement with sleeve E, which is then pulled up by the weight g, and lifts with it the rack-bar K, suspended from the offset I, until stopped by the nut on the lower end of the rack. The rise of the rack in pulling back the pinion, thereby turning the pointershaft, returns the pointer or index-hand to zero or any desired point on the dial, at which point, which is the limitv of the rise of the rack, it is again locked by the latch P. On the entire removal ofthe weight, red A and standard D continue to rise, and catch E swings free of the rack H, being no longer pushed out by the sleeve and spring a, and rises until it again engages with the latter, ready for the next weighing. The advantage obtained by the return of the independent rack to zero on the slightest removal of the weight from the platform prevents the successive weighing of two or more weights without additional payment.

It is evident that any equivalent yielding connection may be substituted for the spring without affecting the operation of my invention; neither do I limit myself to its use with" a spring alone.

. leasing the sleeve from the standard, whereby the connection between the standard and indicating mechanism is broken, substantially as described.

2. In weighing scales, the combination,with the indicating mechanism of the scales, of connecting mechanism between the spring and platform, a standard secured to the connecting mechanism, a sleeve sliding on the standard, connecting mechanism between the sleeve and the indicating mechanism, and means independent of the spring and platform connections and standard for lifting the sleeve, whereby the indicating mechanism is operated independent of the rise of the spring and platform connections and of the standard, substantially as described.

3. In weighing-scales, the combinatiomwith the indicating mechanism of the scales, of con necting mechanism between the spring and platform, a standard secured to the connecting mechanism, a sleeve sliding onthe standard, connecting mechanism between the sleeve and indicating mechanism, means for releasing the sleeve from the standard, and means independent of the spring and plat-form connections for lifting the sleeve, whereby the indicating mechanism is actuated independ ent-ly of the rise of the platform-connections and standard, substantially as described.

4. In weighing-scales, the combination,with the indicating mechanism of the scales, of connecting mechanism between the spring and platform, a standard secured to the connecting mechanism, a sleeve sliding on the standard, and a rack-bar suspended from the sleeve and engaging with the indicating mechanism, whereby the indicating mechanism is operated by the rise and fall of the sleeve and rack-bar suspended therefrom, substantially as described.

5. In weighing-scales, the combination,with the indicating mechanism of the scales, of connecting mechanism between the spring and platform, a standard secured to the connect ing'mechanism, a sleeve sliding on the standard, a rack-bar suspended from the sleeve and engaging with the indicating mechanism, means for releasing the sleeve from the standard, and means independent of the spring and platform connections for lifting the sleeve, whereby the indicating mechanism is actuated independently of the platform-connections and standard, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination of the vertically-sliding rack, the latch, and the chute whereby a coin dropped into the chute releases said rack by the momentum of its fall, substantially as described. i

7. The combination of a vertically-sliding rack, the chute, the latch actuated by the mo- .mentum of the falling coin, the trip-lever extending in the chute for retainingthe coin, and the pivoted crank-arm actuated by the rack, whereby the coin is released from the chute by the return of the rack, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

8. In weighingscales, the combinatiomwith the connecting mechanism of the spring and platform, of the standard secured to the connecting mechanism, a sleeve sliding upon the standard, means for automatically releasing the sleeve on the rise of the standard, means independent of the spring and platform connections for lifting the sleeve when released, a sliding rack suspended from the sleeve, and a latch operated by the momentum of a falling coin, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

9. The combination of weighing-scales, a vertically-sliding rack, indicating mechanism, connecting mechanism between the rack and indicating mechanism, and means of holding the rack suspended independent of standard D, with its support, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a weighing-scale, connecting mechanism between the spring and the platform, a standard secured thereto, a rack, a sleeve on the standard engaging with the rack, indicating mechanism, connecting mechanism between the rack and indicating mechanism, and means for lifting the rack independent of the standard, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with weighingscales, ofindicating mechanism actuated by the descent of the scales, means for automatically releasing the indicating mechanism from its connection with the scales, and means independent of the weighing-scales for returning the indicating mechanism to its normal position, whereby on the descent of the scales the weight is indicated and the indicating mechanism then returned to zero, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ROBERT SMITH. .Witnesses:

WOODBURY LOWERY, M. 1?. GALLAN. 

